Alexander Tucker’s European tour dates
aaamusic | On 13, Sep 2011
Alexander Tucker is heading out for some shows around Europe over the next couple of months, with great support slots with the likes of War on Drugs and Bardo Pond, as well as festival appearances such as Incubate in Tilburg and Supersonic in Birmingham in addition to some headline dates.
ALEXANDER TUCKER
Tour Autumn 2011
13 Sep 2011 UK London Cargo w/ War On Drugs
14 Sep 2011 UK Leeds Brudenell Social Club w/ War On Drugs
15 Sep 2011 UK Sheffield The Harley w/ War On Drugs
16 Sep 2011 BE Kortrijk De Kreun
17 Sep 2011 BE Brussels Ancienne Belgique w/ War On Drugs
18 Sep 2011 NL Tilburg Incubate Festival
11 Oct 2011 UK London Café Oto
20 Oct 2011 UK London XOYO w/ Bardo Pond
22 Oct 2011 UK Birmingham Supersonic Festival
25 Oct 2011 UK Brighton Prince Albert w/ Eternal Tapestry
28 Oct 2011 LV Riga Zemlika
08 Nov 2011 UK Manchester Band On The Wall w/ Date Palms, Nils Frahm
10 Nov 2011 UK London Café Oto w/ Date Palms and Jasmina Maschina
14 Sep 2011 UK Leeds Brudenell Social Club w/ War On Drugs
15 Sep 2011 UK Sheffield The Harley w/ War On Drugs
16 Sep 2011 BE Kortrijk De Kreun
17 Sep 2011 BE Brussels Ancienne Belgique w/ War On Drugs
18 Sep 2011 NL Tilburg Incubate Festival
11 Oct 2011 UK London Café Oto
20 Oct 2011 UK London XOYO w/ Bardo Pond
22 Oct 2011 UK Birmingham Supersonic Festival
25 Oct 2011 UK Brighton Prince Albert w/ Eternal Tapestry
28 Oct 2011 LV Riga Zemlika
08 Nov 2011 UK Manchester Band On The Wall w/ Date Palms, Nils Frahm
10 Nov 2011 UK London Café Oto w/ Date Palms and Jasmina Maschina
12 Nov 2011 UK Oxford Audioscope Festival
British experimental musician Alexander Tucker released his Thrill Jockey debut DORWYTCH in April 2011. This record breaks new ground for Tucker by combining minimalist string arrangements with electronic manipulations and drones to produce doom chamber-pop songs and psychedelic music-concrete collages.
He also plays shows under the name Imbogodom, which began as a sound-collage project with New Zealand’s Daniel Beban but Tucker has adapted this into his solo act for when they can’t play together. The Metallic Year was released on Thrill Jockey last year made by mutual friends in sound exploration, this Trans-Atlantic duo create other-worldly transmissions where improvisation gives way to mutated song forms and intricate soundscapes.
You can also download Alexander Tucker’s “His Arm Has Grown Long” as a free MP3 here:
http://www/thrilljockey.com/assets/freedownload/Alexander_Tucker-His_Arm_has_Grown_Long.mp3
and see the video here:
http://vimeo.com/21839464
New photos, bio etc: http://www.thrilljockey.com/press/index.html?id=12810
Artist site: http://www.myspace.com/alexanderdtucker
Praise for Dorwytch
“Best known for mangling his cello with pedals, Tucker’s new album sees him taking his most focused approach yet, creating eddying psychedelia that calls to mind thunderclouds building over an English meadow in the summer.” NME
“… melds churning string arrangements with electronic drones and finger-picked guitar to underscore a procession of Stygian, Alan Moore-inspired psych pop songs.” Mojo
“A relatively still surface daring you to dive in, its sharp, cold depth containing bindweed, or maybe worse… things that threaten to drag you under, away from the surface beauty into a totally different, forbidding world…. A great, grand album.” The Quietus
“… a wonderfully executed songcycle rooted in folk but skewed by droning electronica and minimal string arrangements. Weirdly brilliant.” The Sun
ALEXANDER TUCKER
DORWYTCH
11 April 2011
Thrill Jockey
Tucker’s sound has developed over the years since his first self-titled solo album, which featured acoustic finger-picking, experimental electronics and was released on Jackie O Motherfucker’s U-Sound Archives label. He went on to combine compositional song structures, drones, layered vocals and improvisations on his 2005 album Old Fog released on ATP Recordings. This collection of spectral moods, eerie landscapes and fragile emotions was followed by Furrowed Brow (2006) and Portal (2008), where the songs and melodies became more pronounced, whilst infecting the tracks with underlying drone currents, traditional finger-picking, doom riffs and David Crosby inspired harmonies.
Three years in the making DORWYTCH finds Tucker refining his song craft and introducing minimalist string movements that build into dense spiraling riffs around his distinct vocals. With varied sounds and grandiose ideas, the album marries the abstract with more traditional song structures, using layering techniques to create the illusion of an ensemble. This album is the first time Tucker has used drums, collaborating with free improv drummer Paul May to create rhythmic improvised beats. Other guests include brooding blues songwriter Duke Garwood (Fire Records), singer-songwriter Jess Bryant and multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer Daniel O’Sullivan (Guapo, Aethanor, Miracles, Ulver).
The album’s themes run the gamut from abstract tales of the everyday, to the supernatural, to other-worldly experiences. Influenced heavily by the work of Alan Moore, songs such as “Matter” reference this directly with themes of metaphysical human/plant matter transcendence inspired by the comic Swamp Thing. Tucker is also fascinated by strange creatures conjured up in tracks such as “Half Vast” where he loops synth pulses to create blissed sonic atmospheres where organic spaceships give birth to plasmatic babies. Or pieces like “Skelator Blues” with chiming guitars and haunted vocals giving birth to skeletal beings who stalk the earth. There are some more mundane themes at work in songs such as “Mildew Stars” (the only one with traditional tunings) about childhood coastal holidays and his dad’s collections of musty old books, prints and found precious things.
In addition to being a solo artist Tucker continues to collaborate with Daniel Beban in their tape loop project IMBOGODOM (also on Thrill Jockey). Other bands include GRUMBLING FUR with members of Guapo and Circle. Past collaborative projects include duets with Stephen O’Malley on his Ginnungagap side project. Tucker is also a visual artist, creating artwork for all of his album covers and side projects, including ongoing paintings drawings, and comic artwork.
DORWYTCH is a beautiful collection of songs, which show Alexander Tucker at the height of his creative talents. He is capable of creating immense sounds on such a grand scale that it is astounding to realize that it is (mostly) all the work of just one man. This album will beguile and entice the listener, placing Tucker at the forefront of the experimental pop landscape.
